


touch me once and you know it's true

by lilythesilly



Series: (episode) tag, you're it! [3]
Category: Schitt's Creek
Genre: episode tag: s04e09 The Olive Branch, mentions of past shitty relationships and neglect, rated F for Feelings, which needs to be capitalized
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-13
Updated: 2021-01-13
Packaged: 2021-03-18 05:53:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28738308
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilythesilly/pseuds/lilythesilly
Summary: “In the past, um, people have told me that I can be, uh, a little too affectionate for them,” is the best way that he can put it.David unconsciously takes a relationship step. Post Olive Branch.
Relationships: Patrick Brewer/David Rose
Series: (episode) tag, you're it! [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2118210
Comments: 36
Kudos: 307





	touch me once and you know it's true

**Author's Note:**

> I had big Olive Branch Feelings all weekend and needed to write this (and if it was a way to unlock my writer's block for my two other WIPs that's also a bonus). This was lowkey inspired by the way David touches Patrick's shoulder while they talk to Moira about Cabaret in 'Whisper of Desire' which is one of my favorite scenes in the series.
> 
> title from 'Crazy for You' by Madonna.

It takes Patrick a day to notice it. 

He’s used to David touching him when they’re alone. Not just in a sexual way, just, in general. 

Although the sexual way is _very_ fun, don’t get him wrong. Patrick didn’t know he could know someone that closely, that intimately. For four months David has taken him apart with his mouth, his tongue, his hands—tantalizingly, explosively, tenderly. He touches Patrick’s body like it’s a new book he’s started and can’t get enough of, flipping page after page until he’s memorized the whole thing before starting all over again. 

When David is telling a story—whether it’s about how he rescued his sister from a bank vault in Las Vegas (“Ocean’s Eleven makes it sound like it’s so hard to break into one of those things, but I’ve literally done it twice”) or that time he convinced his mother to let him wear one of her wigs so he could be Alanis Morissette for Halloween—he uses his hands like they’re additional characters. Patrick’s favorite part of listening to David’s stories is that whenever Patrick interjects with a comment David will keep talking but drop one of his hands down to rub his knee affectionately like he’s saying ‘I appreciate that you’re engaged but please don’t pull focus from the story’. 

Whenever Patrick makes dinner David always lingers closely, hooking his chin over Patrick’s shoulder while he’s at the stove so he can watch him stir (“Do you know how to fold it in? I can show you if you don’t”). 

Don’t even get him started on the way David sleeps. Patrick never used to consider himself a cuddler. He remembers the way Rachel used to lay on his chest while they slept and how it felt like a literal weight holding him down—which, now that he looks back on it, should've clued him in that something was wrong. He used to wait until her breathing evened out and then would slowly move her over. 

David always starts out on his own side of the bed, claiming he gets too hot to fall asleep cuddling, but by the time Patrick wakes up in the morning David has fully draped himself over Patrick’s chest, his hair tickling Patrick’s nose, arms fully wrapped around his torso and one leg shoved in between his. 

Patrick loves it.

The first time it happened after that night at Stevie’s Patrick waited for the familiar panic that came from the weight on his chest to set in but it never came. Instead he felt...oddly settled. Grounded. Like it was right. 

Like he said, he’s used to David touching him when they’re alone. Touching him in public, however, seems to be a new thing. 

It starts off pretty small. 

Having David back in the store after a week of him not being there is like slotting the final piece of a puzzle into place. 

Even though Patrick’s name is on the updated lease and business license as co-owner, Rose Apothecary is very much David’s store—the light coming through the windows seems brighter, the fridge isn’t humming as loudly, the bell over the door rings clearer—and it seems just as happy as Patrick is to have him back (if not happier). 

The touches are so feather light, so small, that Patrick doesn’t even register them until he thinks about it later. David’s fingers gently tapping his waist or his hand on his back when he needs to get by. 

He first takes notice of it when a customer comes in looking for a new face wash. 

“Do you have anything for oily-combination skin?” The woman asks him. 

“Ah, I’m not the best person to ask,” he says honestly, “my partner is the one who would know the answer to that. But, as someone who also apparently has oily-combination skin, I’m told toner works wonders. Hey, David!”

David appears from behind the curtain like he was waiting to see what the customer wanted before coming out (which comes in handy when the customer is Roland). “What can I help with?” he asks and leans his elbow on Patrick’s shoulder. 

“She’s looking for a face wash for someone with oily-combination skin,” he says, “and I told her that you were the person to talk to. Also, that toner is a must.” 

“That is true. Why don’t I show you a couple of our face wash options, and Patrick is right, if you have oily-combo skin you’ll want a toner as well,” David says and smooths his hand over his shoulder so he can squeeze his bicep—and Patrick’s chest only puffs out a little bit in pride for getting the toner thing right—before following the woman over to the table. “Thanks, honey!” 

He notices it again when they stop by the cafe to pick up dinner and run into David’s parents. 

“Oh look, John! David and sweet Pat, still aglow from reconciliation all these weeks later!” Moira says from their booth when they walk in. 

“Ok, it’s been _two days_ and we’re still not doing Pat.” David says dismissively. 

Patrick laughs and waves nervously, “Hi Mrs. Rose, Mr. Rose.” David's parents were inordinately polite when Patrick came back to the table to grab food for David and excuse himself (in the way that only Canadians can really be), but he had no idea whether or not they still hated him. 

“Are you staying for dinner? You’re more than welcome to join us.” Mr. Rose says and gestures to the other side of the booth. 

“Yes! Ensconce yourselves, it seems like ages since we’ve conflabbed with dear Pat.” Mrs. Rose grins.

David huffs and pinches his lips together, which makes Patrick smile and settle a bit. Ok, so they don’t hate him (at least not overtly). 

“Mm, nope, I think we’re gonna pass,” David says and wraps his hands around Patrick’s bicep before moving to rub his shoulder. “We’re watching a movie at Patrick’s so we actually need to go, don’t wait up!”

He grabs Patrick’s wrist and drags him over to the counter so Patrick can grab their order before dragging him back out the front door. 

The air is just crisp enough outside that the walk back to Ray’s is brisk instead of unbearable. David is still holding onto Patrick’s hand while he tells him the story of the spa in Elmdale he went to with Stevie, gesturing wildly with his free hand, flinging Patrick’s around in his hold when he needs both of them to get his point across. 

When Patrick stops to tell him how adorable he thinks it is David rubs his thumb over Patrick's knuckles while continuing with the story, and Patrick gets it. Pulling focus. 

They pass one of their regular customers while David is mid-rant (“I think forcing someone to wear a tiara and eat something with the word ‘lovers’ in front of it should be illegal”) and he uses their joined hands to wave to them before continuing.

That’s definitely new.

Patrick leans into the fluttering going on in his stomach and settles for smiling softly at David (instead of the cheesy grin that wants to break out), holding his hand a little tighter.

He waits until they’ve finished their dinner and gotten to the part of _Two Weeks Notice_ that David doesn’t have any opinions about to bring it up (Ray thankfully isn’t home tonight). 

“So, um, I’ve noticed something,” he says slowly. 

David rubs absent circles around his shoulder blade. “What’s that?” he asks without looking away from the screen. 

“You’ve been touching me, a lot.” 

“What are you talking about?” He turns to look at him, “I touch you all the time.” 

“No, I know,” Patrick says and tries to phrase his next words carefully, “it’s just that you’re not usually so affectionate in front of other people.” 

David’s hand freezes on his shoulder and Patrick feels him slowly start to pull his arm back. 

That’s not what Patrick wants at all so he grabs David’s hand and links their fingers together. “I’m not complaining, at all. I like it, actually. A lot. I just wanted to know what was different?” 

* * *

“ _I just wanted to know what was different?_ ” 

“Um,” David says and tries to pull his hand back again. Patrick gets the hint this time and squeezes it once, reassuringly, before letting go. David pulls away from his shoulder and folds his hands into his lap. “I didn’t realize I was doing it? I’m sorry—” 

Patrick places a hand on David’s thigh and squeezes it like it’ll soothe David’s nerves. It does. “David, I promise, I liked it. I was only curious. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you.” 

David bites his lip and doesn’t know what to say. He’s not used to his partners apologizing when they make him uncomfortable. 

“In the past, um, people have told me that I can be, uh, a little too affectionate for them,” is the best way that he can put it.

The first time his mother's friend Christian took him out to dinner David tried to grab his hand over the table, but Christian just closed his fist tightly and tutted, "Holding hands is for children, David." 

The first time he held Dana’s hand in public she recoiled and pulled it back. “Ew, David, I’m wearing Yves Saint Laurent, what are you doing?” 

Tom laughed loudly the first time David tried to grab his hand. “David, that’s not what this is,” he’d said. 

Yvonne told him he wasn’t allowed to touch her until she could use his credit card on the new Miu Miu collection. 

The only time the birthday clown was affectionate was when he painted David’s face while he slept.

Cameron held his hand while they were in elevators but as soon as they stepped out to where people could see she immediately dropped it.

Pierce told him not holding hands was actually more affectionate than holding hands. 

Quinn just ignored him. 

Sebastien told him that asking to hold someone’s hand in public was too desperate and desperation like that was only attractive in bed.

It’s why he started wearing the rings on his hands. Whenever he felt the need to hold someone’s hand, or touch their shoulder or waist he just...spun the rings on his hand instead. 

“I don’t think there’s such a thing as too affectionate for me, especially when it comes to you.” Patrick says and squeezes his thigh again. David’s not sure if Patrick knows he’s anchoring David by doing this, but he thinks he might. 

He gives him a small smile. “You’re different,” he says quietly and bites his lip, “you’ve always been different.” 

He takes a deep breath and prepares to say what’s actually on his mind, focusing on the warmth of Patrick’s palm through his jeans. They had the Big Ex Talk last night, on the floor in the back room spread out on a blanket with pizza in-between them, and David is still a little raw from it. Using the mildest adjectives he could to describe his exes had been David's second olive branch. But if anything last night showed David anything, it was that Patrick would always be there to listen to him. It makes it a little easier. “I realized this past week that you, um, were all in?” 

“What was the deciding factor—the chocolate or the bracelet?” Patrick teases and David takes it for what it is, a moment of levity.

David laughs and tries to blink back the pressure behind his eyes. “I’ve never had anyone fight for me before—I mean, people have fought over me, but that was more about who was going to get my backstage pass to the JLo concert than me—but, never for just me. I leave and people are usually better off for it. I’ve never left someone’s life and um, had them miss me before.” 

“I missed you.” Patrick says and when David looks up he can see he’s telling the truth. 

“I missed you too,” David says quietly. “And that helped me see that if you missed me and wanted me back, you must have missed all of me—I'm not, um, as good at hiding myself as I used to be." Patrick squeezes his thigh again, an affirmation. "And I guess my subconscious decided that you wouldn’t mind if I held your hand in public or rubbed your shoulder or something.” 

Patrick’s lips tip down into that fond smile David has come to realize is specifically for him and reaches over to unclench one of his hands so he can lace their fingers together. “I don’t mind.” 

He tugs on David’s hand gently to pull him forward and his other hand comes up to rest on David’s jaw and David wraps a hand around his wrist so their lips can meet in the middle. The kiss is soft, but firm enough that David can guess what Patrick is trying to say. 

_“He sees you, for all that you are.”_ His mother’s words come back to him and this time he actually believes her.

The next day when Roland comes into the store looking for more of Mr. Hockley’s tea that they no longer sell (but that David has a couple of bags of back at the motel) Patrick squeezes his hip affectionately and winks. “I’ve got this if you want to go hide in the back.”

“Hey, Roland, if you head to that table over there I’m happy to talk to you about the tea we _do_ sell.” Patrick says and rubs David’s shoulder before he walks over. 

David grins and for once doesn’t feel the need to spin his rings.

**Author's Note:**

> To me, David Rose is someone who feels so deeply and when he was younger probably wore his heart on his sleeve and showed everyone in his life open affection, but because he had so many partners reject him or treat him badly he got used to shoving all of those feelings down and putting up walls but when Patrick shows him he's not going anywhere David doesn't need to quell the urges to be affectionate anymore and goes all in (which is my personal headcanon lol).
> 
> I'm on Tumblr, come say [hi](https://lilythesilly.tumblr.com) (or yell)!


End file.
